Recruit
by darthkueller
Summary: Tevez joined the Imperial Guard a year ago, but he's about to learn a harsh lesson about love and war in the 41st millennium
1. First Day of Work

**DISCLAIMER: Warhammer 40000 belongs to Games Workshop**

**WARNING: **Will contain swearing and scenes of a sexual nature in later chapters.

_I am a veteran. That simply means that I lived longer than I should have. A mistake that will soon be rectified._

**CHAPTER 1**

**FIRST DAY OF WORK**

It was dark. He couldn't see his friends. But he could hear them, and the laughter in their voices was enough to keep him at ease. The only light in the small space was the sergeant's cigar, which wasn't enough to light up even the man's face. Tevez had been surprised to meet his sergeant for the first time. He hadn't been all that much older than Tevez.

Tevez himself was only seventeen, now a year into his training and finally a fully-fledged member of the 31st Kronus Imperial Guard. Now he and his squad were being shipped off to a major Imperial offensive into the Warp against the foul heretics of Chaos. Yet despite the danger ahead his friends were laughing and joking.

Especially his best friend, Karl, who was now telling one of his personal favourites about a Slaanesh Daemon known as Daemonette, a Kroot Hound and a Ratling Sniper that all go into a bar. The others howled with laughter and even Sergeant Ramon permitted himself a chuckle.

"Well boys," Ramon announced. His voice was hoarse, and rumour in the old boot camp had been that he'd fought a Daemon in one-on-one combat. He'd apparently emerged victorious; otherwise he might not have been sitting there today, but had come out of the fight with a severe blow to the neck. Ramon continued speaking.

"We'll be popping out just behind our own front lines. Our job is to secure the bunkers. Should be a piece of cake. The top dogs reckon we won't even need to leave the bunkers for this one. But whatever happens, make sure we get the missile launcher up." Tevez liked to think that Ramon was smiling at this moment. "Good luck boys."

In a few moments the alarm inside the tank rang loud, indicating that the ramp was going down. Light filtered into the tank, light enough to see the largest member of the group, Nash, charge against the door and send it thumping onto the ground. As one the squad surged from the tank, with Ramon soon at the head.

The bunkers were less than forty yards ahead of where they'd disembarked, and on the horizon Tevez could just make out the great war machines of the Chaos army. Half the squad seized up at the sight of them, and a quick glance around allowed Tevez to see a great many other squads emerging from their Chimera transports and freezing.

Shells rained down all around them. One crashed only a few feet away from Tevez but failed to detonate. The logical part of his brain told him that if he didn't move he'd be killed, but his legs didn't seem to work. Then a shell crashed into another squad to his right. The entire squad was ripped asunder, with left arms going one direction and right arms going the other.

"Come on men, or the bloody hangman'll have you!" Ramon shouted. Then he shoved Nash forward, and the squad snapped out of its daze and charged for the relative safety of the bunkers. It was only then that Tevez noticed shells flying towards the Chaos war machines, which meant that the Basilisks of the Imperial Guard were returning fire. The knowledge that help was at hand strengthened his resolve.

The squad dropped down into the bunker, which was only a few feet deep; barely enough for one man to hide behind. So they got down and crouched, as Nash unloaded the missile launcher and his partner, Harris, helped to deploy the stand on which it would rest.

Tevez was busy watching out across the battlefield when something to the right exploded, and his face grew hot. A shell had crashed into the bunker, and where a squad had been moments ago was only charred remains and a few weapons. Tevez touched a hand to his face. It was soaked in blood, though he couldn't tell whether it was his or not.

"Tevez, check those weapons!" Ramon ordered. "We may be able to use them!" Tevez did as ordered and ran across. He picked up a missile launcher, only to find a charred arm smoking slightly was still attached to it. Unable to hold it in, he vomited. He turned around to make sure no one had seen him.

Then the enemy's guns went silent.

The Imperial guns fired on, but their shells seemed few and far between. From off to one side Tevez heard the call, "Ground assault!" He dropped the missile launcher and spun around, bracing his lasgun against his shoulder and looking out across the battlefield for the enemy.

Then the first of the enemy appeared in his view. They moved incredibly fast, and in the afternoon sun Tevez could see that they wore blood red armour. The logical part of his brain told him these were Chaos Space Marines, a cruel mockery of the Imperial's Elite Troops.

But the illogical part of his brain reminded him of a time when he'd wanted to be a Space Marine. All boys wanted to be Space Marines. They were the heroes of the Imperium. _"For every Space Marine that dies a thousand enemies will perish." _That was what they used to say.

The illogical part of his brain knew that these were, in some ways, Space Marines. And in this case he and his squad were the enemies.

But that was heretical thinking. Now all he had to do was focus on shooting.

Gently he wrapped his index finger around the trigger and gazed down his gun at the advancing enemy. He levelled it at ones head and squeezed the trigger. The bolt flew straight out of his gun and struck the Chaos Space Marine...

Who didn't even wince.

Tevez looked at his gun. It seemed to be in perfect order, but why didn't it work? He fired again, but the line of approaching enemies didn't falter. Then he glanced around. All around him lasguns were being fired but having no effect. Only the missile launchers and grenade launchers going off were doing any damage, and half the time they seemed to be flying off without hitting anything.

Tevez levelled his gun out and started firing as fast as he could, no longer concerned with accuracy. The line of Chaos Space Marines and their apparently impregnable armour was fast approaching. Now they were nearer Tevez could hear the whirl of chainaxes and the howls of war of the attackers.

The Chaos Space Marines were suddenly in the trench. Tevez pulled his knife and stabbed for the heart of one warrior, but the knife feebly snapped in half. It was only up close that Tevez could appreciate how tall this warrior was. It was that height that enabled Tevez to duck down low and avoid a slash from the warrior's howling blade.

He ducked again and spun past another warrior, trying to get back to his squad. But his efforts were futile. His squad was already being torn apart. He had just arrived in time to see Ramon's last facial expression of shock as a chainaxe tore through his neck and sent his head sprawling across the ground.

Had Tevez not emptied his stomach previously he would have vomited. But even so his vision was pierced by black spots, and he had to fight to keep them at bay. He shook his head. He could not afford to lose consciousness and die here.

He had to get back to the Chimera. And his weapons were useless.

His only saving grace was that the Chaos Space Marines were busy, enthralled by the blood that they had spilt. They rolled in it, ran their hands through it, cut up already dead bodies until they were drained of it. It gave Tevez the chance to scramble out of the bunker and towards the tanks.

Which were leaving.

"Wait!" he cried. "Please! Wait!" He ran as fast as he could, knowing that once they had built up speed there was no way he could catch them, and no way he could make it to base camp without them. His ears pounded as the Chaos bombardment from the war machines began again, with their own men still in the trenches!

But Tevez couldn't dwell on it. With a massive jump he caught onto one of the tanks with a still open door, and managed to haul himself it. There, he permitted the blackness to consume him and closed his eyes.


	2. The Girl

**DISCLAIMER: Warhammer 40000 belongs to Games Workshop**

_You're not in hell son, though by the end of this you might wish you were._

**CHAPTER 2**

**THE GIRL**

Tevez stumbled through the camp. All around him people were shouting, running around with stretchers. But he couldn't hear what they were saying. He was still absorbing the shock of it all.

How in thirty seconds what had been his family for the last year had been completely wiped out.

As a boy growing up he'd dreamed of this day. How he'd heroically rise to the occasion and he and Karl would be given medals for saving the day. But war was a lot different from the front lines.

It had been so quick.

Now he made his way back to the tent. It seemed like the only thing to do. The squad had been staying there for a few days before they were called out. The squad. It hurt to think about them. He just kept thinking about all those things they'd said to him.

It was Nash's sister's birthday next week. She was going to be sixteen. Apparently she wanted to join the army like her brother.

Or Harris' brother, who would have been three just yesterday.

Yorke's anniversary. He'd requested leave to go home and see his wife.

At last he came to the tent. He stepped inside. The sleeping bags and various personal effects were strewn everywhere. They'd been called out on such short notice.

So Tevez finally let out his emotions. He sat in the tent and cried, alone.

He must have been crying for hours when someone entered the tent. At first he thought it was a Commissar come to execute him for fleeing the battlefield. The thought stopped Tevez from looking up to see who it was. But he felt someone sit down beside him, and a surprisingly soft pair of hands drew around him. It was a woman. And she was crying too.

For a long time they just sat there, unable to speak because of their various grievances. At last she said something.

"I'm Sandy," she said. "What's your name?"

"Tevez," he croaked. He looked up at her. She was a little bit older than him, and her blonde hair had been grown down to her neck, a sure sign she must have completed boot camp at least a year before him. Her eyes were blue.

"No, your _real_ name," Sandy insisted. Tevez took a moment to think.

"Everyone's always called me Tevez," he told her. "But my mother... used to call me Jules."

It seemed weird to think of his mother. He hadn't seen a woman since he'd left for boot camp. And now he was torn. Part of him wanted Sandy to hug him, like a mother. The other part wanted her to hug him like a lover.

It was strange how just looking at this girl made him momentarily forget his grief. So he tried to speak to her.

"Why are you sad?" he asked.

"Because my friend died today," she replied. "Why are you?"

"I lost many friends today."

They looked at each other.

"From now on, we'll be friends," Sandy said. Tevez nodded, but couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

A few hours later they went down to the mess tent to get their rations. Tevez was still in his armour, though Sandy appeared to be wearing non-combat gear in a tank top and camo trousers. The number on Tevez's shoulder attracted a bit of attention.

"You're from 206?" the man giving out rations asked. "Captain said your squad was completely wiped out. You should've reported to be sorted into one of the remnants." Tevez sighed. It seemed so obvious now. All the soldiers from depleted groups would be sorted back into tens. As Tevez had left it so long it was likely he'd be sorted into a squad with the most injured. Sadly that was likely to be the first wave.

_Waste not, want not._ His grandfather had told him that once. He'd been Tevez's hero. He'd even won the Medallion Crimson once. He wondered if the Lieutenant might have known of the exploits of his grandfather. Though Tevez had never known what he'd won the medal for.

"I'll see you around," Tevez said to Sandy.

"I'll come with you," Sandy said, but Tevez shook his head. He walked off towards where the senior staff were set up. He quickly found the Captain, a balding man with a bionic lower arm with a Power Fist crudely attached.

"Captain, Private Tevez of squad number 206 reporting, sir!" he said, standing to attention and giving the proper salute.

"By the Emperor's Holy Backside, a survivor," the Captain exclaimed. "We thought we'd lost everyone in the trenches."

"It was the Chaos Space Marines, sir, they overwhelmed us, and the Chimera's fled," Tevez said. "Sir," he added.

"Well, you seem to be alright." The Captain looked him up and down. "Do you feel alright? No injuries?"

"I did black out, sir."

"You'll be fine," the Captain told him with a pat on the back. "And you're in luck. 207's still a man down. It'll be the tent beside yours I reckon. Clear out your tent and return it to the supplies room, then report for duty. Dismissed." He gave the Captain the proper salute and set about his business.

Clearing out the tent on his own was hard work, and he was hungry. Luckily the squad members had left their spare ration bars behind, along with one waterskin. Then he set about finding the things he could still use and getting them into his bag. Someone had left a knife behind and some spare batteries, and someone else had hidden a small dataslate behind complete with a rather large selection of porno. Tevez took a long time with that one, and used a spare uniform to clean up the mess he made.

When he emerged from the tent his new sergeant was waiting.

"Private Tevez?" he asked.

"Yes, sir!" He saluted.

"Welcome to 207. I'm your new sergeant, Sergeant Hawkins. Your new squad members will assist you taking down the tent. Men!" Eight men appeared from the tent next to his. They were all about the same age as Tevez, and all of them looked very scared if unharmed. Probably the first to run at the sight of battle.

Somehow Tevez didn't think they'd be his problem for long. Together the nine took down the tent, with one managing to nearly stab himself with his bayonet in the process. Then they carried the spare packs and tent back to the supply depot. Squad 206 was officially no more.

It was just one of those things. That night, as Tevez lay with his eyes closed yet not sleeping, he couldn't help but think of all the dreams that would never be. But the Imperial Guard was a large force, and one squad less might not make much of a difference...

Then again it might cost them the war. Whatever it was they were fighting over.


	3. Mutiny

**DISCLAIMER: Warhammer 40000 belongs to Games Workshop**

_If you die then there is another soldier waiting to take your place, and no one will miss him when he dies either._

**CHAPTER 3**

**MUTINY**

Hawkins was very different from Ramon. For one thing he swore a lot more, he never seemed to know what he was doing and he was a coward. It was for that reason that Commissar Polton soon joined the unit. He was there to whip them into shape.

Tevez quickly grew to know his squad-mates, but he decided it was best not to get to know them too well for the time being. So he distanced himself from the rest of the unit. He was cold and impartial whenever they tried to talk to them. Polton took a shine to him immediately.

But Polton was in as bad a shape as the unit. He was old, probably well past his prime. Half of his torso was now bionics, so he walked leaning a bit to one side, and on his left hand was a massive scar that prevented him from wielding any weapon in that hand. He was strict, having the squad up at the crack of dawn everyday to go for a run. Tevez was fairly sure the rest of the squad was on the verge of mutiny.

Tevez liked the run because it gave him a chance to see around the camp. The other squads seemed to be divided into those still battle-worthy and those recovering from the devastation of the last battle. However empty tents were soon filled with new recruits, some who looked even younger than Tevez. He kept a lookout for Sandy, but couldn't see her anywhere. He'd pondered asking Polton if he knew of a Private named Sandy, but without a surname or any justifiable reason to ask he felt he'd better not.

Besides, he still had the porn from one of his old squad mates.

As the army began to reform and the rows of tents were full once again rumours began to grow of the continuing campaign. Scouts had reported Kroot Hounds being sighted in the south, a sign that perhaps the alien race of the Tau might follow. The scouts had been promptly executed to prevent this information spreading.

Official word was that the scouts had been ambushed by Chaos. But Jarles, a member of Tevez's new squad and a bit of a conspiracy theorist, was starting to question all this.

"How do we know there's Chaos out there?" Jarles asked Tevez when they had been on sentry duty. "The only ones anyone's seen were those hundred or so at the first battle. And they've mysteriously all been killed."

Tevez would not normally have referred to being hit by an ordinance barrage as "mysterious."

Just then he caught sight of Commissar Polton. He saluted, and Jarles spun round to do the same. Polton's eyes narrowed. He merely nodded.

"You can't go around accusing the commanders of staging a battle," Tevez whispered. "You'll be executed."

It wasn't just that. Tevez was sure there was another reason for the Chaos war machines firing on their own men. From what Polton had hinted the Chaos Space Marines involved had been the barbaric World Eaters, a group driven so mad by the Daemons that they considered dying and leaving a bloody mess to be the ultimate reward from their false gods. It made sense in a way. The Chaos commander had simply lost control of these monsters, and decided to let them run around killing guardsmen for a while before blowing them to bits as well.

So the Chaos commander was likely as mad as his troops. It wasn't a good sign.

A few days later the call came. Polton and Hawkins had been gone for two hours. They returned with their mission objectives. Hawkins was very white, but Polton was grinning broadly. It wasn't a reassuring smile. He was missing four teeth.

"Right, we're moving out boys," Polton said to them. "Pack light. Bring only what you need, that's only a few rations, one waterskin between two, your grenades, your knives and your weapons."

"What about helmets sir?" Georgio, the thick one, asked. Polton hit him on the head with his pistol, and he dropped to the ground clutching his head.

"You tell me if you need a helmet or if your skull's thick enough," Polton snapped at him, displaying the favoured "tough love" of a Commissar.

The squad loaded into one of the larger transports. They were less armoured than a Chimera, reflecting how they weren't normally used in battle but more often just as transport. However it enabled movement of several squads over longer distances.

Tevez was glad the light was dim and he didn't have to look at the faces on the members of the other squads. Similarly they probably wouldn't be able to see his face.

The transport finally slowed down, finally coming to a bone rattling stop. Polton gave a roar and banged the computer panel beside the door, unlocking it. He then ordered the squad nearest the door to get out. They hesitated just long enough for Polton to draw his bolt pistol.

There was a surge for the door.

Tevez found himself outside facing down battle once again. This time the guard infantry had been sent out to secure a hill on the flank of where the main battle would be fighting. He'd silently hoped there'd be no one on the hill. Instead there were masses of humans in robes.

Chaos Heretics, though lacking the famed power armour that made the Space Marines so formidable.

"Prepare to fire!" Polton shouted, assuming command. The five squads from the transport all dropped to one knee, raising all manner of lasguns, grenade launchers, flamers, missile launchers, and heavy bolters. For a moment they were silent.

"FIRE!" The hills rang with their fire, and the heretics surged forward. But the guns this time did their job, mowing them all down.

"Charge! Secure the hill!" Polton roared. The guardsmen cheered and surged forward, several daring to fire as they went. Then the surge met the heretics head on.

With the heavy weapons useless at this range the guardsmen were only able to use their lasguns and knives. But the heretics swung huge chainswords, cutting through men left and right. One guardsman screamed and ran.

Polton spun around long enough to put a bullet in his back.

"Stand and fight!"

Tevez obeyed, and levelled his gun at a heretic who had just chopped down two guardsmen. He fired and struck the heretic in the torso, knocking him down.

Kill one.

The feeling of having just killed someone suddenly gave Tevez a rush of power. He levelled his gun at another heretic and fired, this time striking him in the jaw. He was about to fire a third when a heretic sprang out from his right. The heretic's sword came down at his face, which Tevez blocked by raising his lasgun high and parrying. With his gun in a firm grip in his right hand he drew his bayonet with his left, thrusting it triumphantly into the heretic's stomach.

"Die bitch," Tevez snarled, overcome with the desire to say something clever. The desire might have to wait.

Around him the other guardsmen continued the surge up the hill, and a few had even reached the top, sweeping up the remainder of the heretics. Polton charged up and down, surveying the losses.

"The hill is secure!" he called. The guardsmen cheered in response, and Tevez reached the top of the hill with a grin on his face. Then he looked out across the main battlefield.

The blood on the grass was like rivers in places. The fighting was still going on, with the Imperial Guard beating back huge squads of the Chaos heretics. But the Imperial Guard still seemed to be on top. The remaining guardsmen on the hill watched in silence.

"Come on, charge!" Polton roared, raising his pistol. He ran ten feet forward and realised he was alone in his charge. He turned around to point his pistol at them. "Move you traitors!"

Something about being called a traitor made Tevez step forward. He walked over to Polton, and stood beside him. He was the only one who moved.

"Traitors! Fight for your Emperor!" Polton demanded.

"We can hold the hill!" Hawkins called back. "Here we can support our men effectively. If we charge down the hill we'll die."

"Then we'll die well," Polton snapped back. "Tevez, I order you to execute Hawkins!" Tevez looked down at his lasgun, only to notice that his fight with the heretic had damaged the gun. It was broken.

"Tevez," Polton growled.

"My gun's broken, sir," Tevez said. He dropped the gun to the ground and stepped forward with his bayonet still in hand. Hawkins levelled his lasgun at Tevez as he approached.

"Don't make me shoot you!" Hawkins shouted. Tevez responded by tossed his knife, which flashed across Hawkins' hand causing him to drop his weapon. Hawkins gasped and Tevez took the chance to charge him and punch him in the stomach. He grabbed at Hawkins' knife, drew it, and thrust it into his sergeant's stomach. Hawkins' eyes grew wide, and he gasped for breath.

He dropped to the ground. He took a long time to die.


	4. Picnic on the Hill

**DISCLAIMER: Warhammer 40000 belongs to Games Workshop**

_This pain is good. This pain means that you are still alive. But if you do not like it, you may rejoice in the knowledge that you won't be in pain for much longer._

**CHAPTER 4**

**PICNIC ON THE HILL**

It was surprising how much blood could come from such a quick motion, yet his hands were covered in it. The knife had fallen from his grip and become embedded in the ground. Now it pointed up at him accusingly.

Hawkins' was still feebly gasping for breath, clutching desperately at his stomach as if to try and stop the flow of blood. No one else moved, except Tevez, who shook. Then he used a word befitting of the occasion.

"Oh _fuck_."

He'd never uttered that word without anybody gasping or scolding him. But nobody reacted. It was as if he had never said it. He looked around to Polton, who in turn stared at him in shock. Tevez had just killed his superior officer...

On Polton's orders.

"Private Tevez, reporting for duty, sir," he said with a salute. Polton just continued to look blankly at him. "Sir?"

"Tevez, you are a traitor," Polton said at last. "You murdered your sergeant."

"At your orders, sir," Tevez reminded him. "You gave me the order to execute a traitor."

"Only a Commissar may execute traitors," Polton said to himself as much as anybody else. "And you are a traitor." He pointed his gun at Tevez. "All traitors must die!"

He fired.

Tevez just stood, not daring to blink. The bolt had flown at him so fast, but had sailed just past his head. He'd almost felt it. He was lucky to be alive.

Polton lowered his gun and began muttering to himself. He paced up and down, pausing only for a few moments to look at Tevez, shake his head and begin pacing again. Tevez thought it best to remain still and leave him to it.

Polton stopped suddenly and smiled. He turned to Tevez and opened his arms wide as if to hug him.

"Come here, my boy," he said affectionately. Tevez was surprised at this sudden change in character, so he stepped forward carefully. He took one step into Polton's reach and then the old man tried to wrap his arms around Tevez. Tevez ducked.

This time the guardsmen who had been watching did gasp, as Tevez grabbed the knife in Polton's hand with both of his own, redirecting it towards the Commissar's heart. Polton's eyes went wide as the blade pierced his chest, but he was dead before Tevez even let go of the blade. Polton's body fell backwards and landed on the ground with a _thud!_

Tevez had just committed a murder he couldn't pass off on a senior officer. Now he was screwed.

"Who's in charge now?" Tevez asked, turning to the remaining guardsmen, now just over thirty in all. "Where are the sergeants?" Four men stood forward, each with their guns holstered by their sides and their knives secured at their backs. They stood to attention as if being addressed by their commander.

"Who's in charge?" Tevez repeated.

"That'll be me," the oldest looking of the four said. His hair was cut extremely short but still noticeably black, and whereas the others had clean faces he had a recent scar across one cheek. "Sergeant Glacier. I was in originally in charge until Polton took over."

"Do they know he's here?" Tevez asked.

"No, the briefing was given to me," Glacier replied. "The first I knew Polton was coming was when he showed up in the transport."

"We can cover it up?" Tevez asked. Glacier looked at him. He nodded.

"Provided no one tattles," Glacier said. Tevez looked around at all of the remaining guardsmen. A few minutes ago they had been willing to betray Polton. The question was if they still would.

"What should we do next?" Tevez asked.

"An assault down the hill would be suicide," another sergeant said. "From here we can hold position, set up the heavy weapons and fire upon the enemy's inevitable retreat."

"Do... do that then," Tevez said. He was aware that he was ordering his superiors, but they didn't seem to mind. He went to walk back to the body but Glacier stopped him.

"With your sergeant dead your squad will reform under me," Glacier announced. "Take off his uniform and toss him among the Cultists, just in case." He turned away and began issuing orders to the remaining troops. Tevez set about disposing of Polton's body.

When he dropped the body he went back to see Polton's gun. It was different from standard issue laspistols. It was larger, designed to fire the bolts more often associated with Space Marine technology. Tevez took the gun and Polton's belt, which had a holster and a spare round of ammo. It was surprisingly light and carefully made. Perhaps Polton had once been someone important.

About four hours later the battle below was won, and the Captain came up to see them. Tevez stood to attention beside Glacier at his request while the Captain questioned him.

"Sixteen lost, eh?" the Captain said with a smile. "That's nothing compared to what we lost down there, but we pushed them back. We'll have to enforce this hill, certainly. I'll ask you and your men to hold it the night, I can't get reinforcements out until the morning. But we'll have a sentry post here by tomorrow evening, you mark my words. Anyone important?" He gestured to the corpses at the base of the hill. His voice was cold, almost uncaring about the soldiers that had died here for him.

"We lost one good sergeant," Glacier said. "They only lost grunts. But not all bad news, sir. This man..." He clapped Tevez on the shoulder. "This man fought exceptionally today."

"The last of Ramon's lot?" the Captain asked as if surprised. "You should be proud, son, a recommendation from Sergeant Glacier is worth a lot these days." He smiled and walked off, leaving Tevez looking puzzled at Glacier.

"I was his sergeant once," Glacier explained. "Back when he still had both his arms and hair."

The group had no tents, so tonight they'd have to brave the elements with only basic rations to live on. They managed to scrounge some extra off the dead. Some of the troops managed to cut down a few trees and get a huge fire going. There the men sang and danced songs of victory whilst others took the night watch. One courageous guardsman got up and did his Yarrick impersonation, using a few sticks to crudely represent the infamous Power Fist, which he then used to scratch himself. The guardsmen laughed and joked. Then two of them staged a wrestling match.

It was probably the most amount of fun thirty-four men could have without alcohol.

In the morning reinforcements came and began erecting a watchtower from old metal plates that looked like they'd been torn off a rusty Titan. Tevez got into the transport with everyone else, and they were taken back to the base camp.


	5. Another Betrayal

**DISCLAIMER: Warhammer 40000 belongs to Games Workshop**

_To survive a battle you do not need skill or strength. Thousands who have these qualities in abundance greater than you will die in battle. Luck and luck alone will see you through a battle. If you have such luck, cherish it. But, whatever you do, do not push it._

**CHAPTER 5**

**ANOTHER BETRAYAL**

Tevez kept as still as he could manage, waiting patiently as the great beasts in clanking armour walked past. He glanced over to where Glacier watched the Chaos Space Marines pass by. He looked nervous, as if he knew he was about to loose a lot of men.

They were, technically speaking, under the command of Lieutenant Tornate. But Tornate was an idiot and was now, technically speaking, tied to a tree. It may seem funny but Tevez knew it could wind up costing Glacier his life. That would be if he failed.

If he succeeded they'd give him a promotion and a medal.

Four days ago they'd left base camp for this forest with the intention of setting up this ambush for any passing units. They'd been surprised when the Chaos Space Marines had come so quickly, with barely enough time to conceal some of the mines further ahead on the trail. The plan was that the men would wait until the mines killed those at the front of the procession whilst the guardsmen jumped those at the back. The problem was there seemed to be a lot of them, and they were heavily armoured.

These were different to those Tevez had fought in his first battle. They wore green armour with silver horns and various other protrusions. They were calmer too, more organised. Tevez guessed that meant they were less expendable.

So this was a chance to deal a heavy blow to the enemy's army.

Suddenly the ground shook and an explosion rang through the forest. Tevez took his cue and leapt out with his lasgun blazing, aiming for the neck of the dreaded power armour where it was weakest. One Chaos Space Marine fell, but the others readied their bolters and aimed for the guardsmen now emerging from the forest. But they were outnumbered, and the heavy weapons teams of the Imperial Guard were firing at this close range to devastating effect, though dealing several casualties to their own numbers. Soon, however, the Space Marines' bodies lay strewn about the path. Several men wearing camo netting approached Glacier, with long rifles resting on their shoulders.

"We got all we saw, though it'd be foolish to say none got out," one man said. Glacier nodded.

"That can be expected, though if it stops them from trying to come through this forest again all the better," Glacier said. He dismissed the men and called over the other sergeants. He included Tevez in this conversation.

"They'll be back in greater numbers," one sergeant warned. "And we used up most of our mines in that battle."

Tevez wished to say that it was hardly a battle. It was more like a slaughter. But he held his tongue in the face of his superior officers.

"We'll retreat further into the forest," Glacier said after a moments thought. "Further along from here where the path meets the river. There we can drive them into it, and trap them. If that plan fails we can flee into the caves deeper in the forest. We can hold those for months."

"Provided we have the ammo and food," Tevez added. He felt more likely they could only hide in the caves a few days, and with no hope for reinforcements or any way out of the caves... but it was the only choice.

"Make sure you bring Tornate," Glacier said to one of the sergeants. He dismissed them with a salute. Tevez stayed behind.

"How come you're still a sergeant?" Tevez asked. "You have the brains and the strategies to go so much higher."

"None of your business," Glacier snapped at him. He stalked off into the forest, leaving Tevez to collect the men.

It was only three days later more Chaos forces arrived. This time they suspected a trap, but the guardsmen drove them back again, this time into the treacherous waters of the river.

"We can't hold out here indefinitely," one of the sergeants complained. "We'll have to return to base camp."

"Our mission is to protect our flank," Glacier snarled. "Even now our forces move around the forest towards the enemy's base. If we can distract them, all the better."

A day later the Chaos forces came again. This time there were too many. Glacier called a retreat to the caves.

"Fuck!" Tevez kicked over a broken heavy bolter. The forces of Chaos had seemed to come at them in waves without end. Finally they had stopped, though only after they'd killed many of the guardsmen and damaged several of the heavy weapons beyond repair.

"How many men left?" Glacier asked.

"Fourteen," Tevez replied. "All the sergeants are gone. Tornate's alive," he added. Glacier did not look pleased.

"Why hasn't he volunteered to help?" Glacier demanded.

"He's gagged," Tevez replied. "On the basis that unless he tells us not to tie him up, it's not mutiny." Glacier cursed as well.

"Untie him, we're leaving," Glacier said.

Glacier went around and chose five of the men, then Tornate and Tevez.

"Right, I need you to sneak out to the south. The rest of us are the distraction." Tevez was about to protest, but Glacier shushed him. "That's an order."

"Yes Tevez," Tornate said. He was one of those young men who'd been given power because of who his father was and liked to walk around like he'd earned it. "They're the distraction and we walk away safely. It's a good plan."

Tevez tried to protest again but was cut off. All the others in the group agreed with him. Tevez glanced over at the group Glacier had chosen to die with him. They were all the best fighters.

There was something going on here.

But Tevez followed Tornate nonetheless. The group stuck through the bushes, then suddenly one of them exploded. Tevez ran over to him.

One of the last mines.

They'd been set up!

Tevez couldn't believe it. Glacier had lied to them. Tevez and Tornate had been the distraction, and now the Chaos Space Marines could be heard scrambling through the bushes. Tevez cursed Glacier in every way he could think of, and turned and ran. Tornate and the others followed him, running for all they were worth. But they trailed behind and Tevez heard their screams be cut short.

Because, unlike him, they had no idea where he was going. He'd doubled back at one point, aiming for the direction where Glacier was certainly just having a casual stroll through the forest. He had to duck past a chainsword at once, but soon he caught sight of the other group of seven. He pulled out Polton's bolter, aimed and fired.

One of the soldier's heads blew off. Tevez got closer and the guardsmen drew their guns. Tevez responded by firing rapidly, knocking all of them flying. By this stage he was close enough to knock the final one, Glacier, to the ground.

"Tevez, no! I can explain!" Glacier pleaded. "You have no idea what it's like! The Captain sends me on all these stupid missions he knows I can never win, because I pushed him around when I was his sergeant."

"Did you ever stop to think maybe it's just because you're incompetent?" Tevez asked. Without another moment's hesitation he blew Glacier's head off, splattering his own uniform with blood. The blood of a man he had once trusted with his life. He should have had the measure of the man when he'd abandoned his Commissar so readily.

No sound came from behind him. Apparently the Chaos Space Marines had stopped following.


	6. The Veterans

**DISCLAIMER: Warhammer 40000 belongs to Games Workshop**

_The reason a soldier dies is because he was fighting for what he wanted to live for._

**CHAPTER 6**

**THE VETERANS**

Tevez arrived back to base camp alone, with his gun hanging loosely at his side. No one stopped him as he entered. Everybody was too wrapped up in themselves, treating their wounds and finding their friends.

Apparently they'd just lost a battle.

Tevez's legs carried him towards the Captain's tent, for some innate part of him knew that was where to go. When he reached the tent he came face to face with the Captain. He opened his mouth but no sound came out.

"Do you have a message from Glacier, soldier?" the Captain demanded. Tevez said nothing for a moment.

"He told me you sent him on all those suicide missions because he bullied you when you were a private," Tevez said at last. It wasn't an accusation or a question. It was just a statement. The Captain sighed.

"He is dead then. I hate to say it, but a good soldier lost."

"It's true then?" Tevez asked.

"Four Captains have come and gone during Glacier's time in this army," the Captain said. "None of them saw fit to promote him, and neither did I. But you, Private, have a knack for surviving these missions. It's as if you don't recognise when you're number's up. I'll be transferring you to a Veteran Unit."

"Veteran?" Tevez repeated. "But I can't be a veteran. I'm not even eighteen yet."

"The enemy will not ask you for your age before shooting you," the Captain replied with a cheeky grin. "Report to unit 094, Sergeant Young. You'll know the unit when you see it." Tevez gave a feeble salute and walked back towards the rows and rows of tents. He picked his way carefully through them, reading the numbers outside as if in a trance. At last he came to tent 094. He recognised a man with a sergeant's insignia and approached him. He saluted.

"Private Tevez reporting for duty, sir," he said. The sergeant turned around. By normal standards Tevez would have thought him young. His hair was unkempt and thrown hastily down his back and he worse a short beard that looked like he'd shaved with a lasgun. He was talking to a blonde woman.

"Old Rogers said he'd send over a new boy," the sergeant said. "Didn't think you'd be _this_ new. Sergeant Young," he added, shaking hands. "Marcus in informal company. This is Private Sandy Green." He gestured to the woman beside him. Tevez nodded to Sandy, the girl he'd met a lifetime ago just after his first battle.

"Come on in I'll introduce you to the others," Marcus said, holding open the tent flap. Six other men were in there up to various misdeeds.

"Right, this one here with the porn is Vince. That's Greg with the illegal narcotics I'm going to pretend I don't see. Jimmy's the one buying the narcotics with money he got from selling his rations. That fat one's Al. He'll be the one that bought the rations. Dan over there in the corner's cleaning the weapons, and that eejit in the corner staring blankly off into space is Russ. Right lads, this is the new boy, Tevez. You got another name?"

"Jules."

"Jewels Tevez?" Marcus asked, staring at him. "We'll stick with Tevez." Marcus sighed. "Well, as you were men. I'm going to go outside and pretend I'm part of a competent unit." He left. Tevez turned around to see Sandy smiling brightly at him.

"Don't worry, that's just his way of showing affection," she told him.

"I never had you figured for a Veteran," Tevez said. Sandy didn't look all that surprised.

"Not many people do."

"She's soft, you see," the one called Vince said. "But she's a hell of a good shot. Might not need her with these fucking stunties around, though."

"_Vince_," Sandy reprimanded him. "Watch your language in front of the R-O-O-K-I-E." Everybody chuckled except Tevez, who wasn't used to being the subject of any joke. Sandy smiled at him sympathetically.

"Sorry, but that's how I show affection," she said. Tevez remembered that Commissar Polton showed affection by shooting people and Sergeant Glacier did it by using you as live bait whilst he saved his own miserable skin. Tevez thought he could have done a lot worse.

The Veterans didn't spend as much time doing drills as the other units Tevez had been in. While the other squads trained Marcus sent them out on a "requisition" mission. As far as Tevez could tell this involved stealing supplies from other units.

"It's okay," Sandy told him. "We get sent out on the most dangerous missions, and the Captain won't give us any extra equipment so we just have to take it."

Tevez spotted Al making off with a pot of soup from the mobile kitchen.

Despite Marcus' predictions that any day now Captain was going to tell them to charge head first into an enemy camp to assassinate the commander the Veteran's received no missions any more complicated than scouting. This involved sneaking out towards an enemy encampment and watching for a few hours to see if anyone was coming. This was done in groups of three, and Tevez went with Sandy and Vince. Sandy carried a lasgun that had been extended to act as a sniper, and Vince carried two laspistols. Tevez stuck with his lasgun and boltpistol.

One of the scouting missions took them out to the Tau camp. Vince checked they were downwind of the camp, to prevent the Kroot from smelling them.

"Emperor's solid gold toilet," Vince muttered in awe. "There must be thousands of them."

The Tau had set up their largest buildings in the centre of the camp, but the camp was surrounded by thousands of small mud huts where the Kroot servants lived. Tevez tried to count the number of tents but quickly gave up. Vince and Sandy had tried the same, though Vince kept counting long after Tevez and Sandy had given up.

"So now what?" Tevez asked.

"Up for a little fun?" Vince asked. "I see the shaper's hut. We could sneak in, kill him, and then get out."

"Or I could do this," Sandy said. While Vince had been talking she had taken aim with the long lasgun, and she fired. The bolt flashed through the air towards the tent. It was too far for Tevez to see if it hit, but Sandy gave a triumphant, "Yes!"

Vince groaned.

Half the camp was moving. Several of the Kroot were pointing up at them.

"Run!" Vince hissed. Tevez got up to his feet and grabbed Sandy's hand, before pulling her to her feet. Her lasgun slipped and landed on the ground, but there wasn't time to go back for it. The trio ran on, but soon the forest was full of the howls of the Kroot.

Tevez felt the wind in his face. It was changing! The Kroot would be able to smell them now.

"We have to get downwind!" he called as they ran.

"Right!" Vince called, leading them away from the camp. Sandy stumbled but continued running. Soon she tripped again, knocking Tevez down with her. Vince wheeled around and drew his pistols.

"Take this you hairy bastards!" he screamed, blasting something behind Tevez. Tevez snapped up with his lasgun drawn, and began firing at the approaching Kroot. They were green, so it was more difficult to spot them in the forest. He shot a few down.

"Don't shoot, run!" Sandy shouted, already to her feet. Tevez scrambled after her, and Vince soon followed. For a few minutes they ran with no sign of their attackers. Then Vince screamed from behind them.

"No!" Sandy cried. Tevez turned around with his lasgun raised. One of the Kroot was on Vince's back, dragging his scythe-like weapon down his back. Tevez blasted the monster off Vince's back. Sandy dashed over to him, but a Kroot stepped out of the bushes to block her off. Tevez shot it twice, burning two deep wounds into its chest. By now two more were on Vince. Tevez grabbed Sandy.

"We have to go!" he snarled at her.

"Not without him!" Sandy pleaded, but Tevez didn't listen to her. He took the butt of his lasgun and rammed it into the side of her head. She went limp, but Tevez caught her and swung her over his shoulders. Then he ran.

Vince continued to scream for a long time. The Kroot ate their prey alive, while it was still warm.


	7. Rape

**DISCLAIMER: Warhammer 40000 belongs to Games Workshop. This chapter may contain sexual scenes offensive to some readers.**

_Men have killed others for ownership of land, money or animals; in the name of religion; even for pride. But the one thing that really messes a man up is a woman._

**CHAPTER 7**

**RAPE**

Sandy was still unconscious, which made it easier for Tevez to stitch up the wound on her head she'd received when he'd knocked her out. He'd found a large rock down by the river which would act as shelter. It was probably best to lie low for a while.

Tevez spent a long time cleaning the wound and using the stitches, almost loving even this brief physical contact with her. For a moment he allowed his hands to wander lower down, grazed over her breasts and down her thighs. The contact caused him to gasp.

He was painfully aware he was alone in the woods with the most beautiful girl he'd ever known unconscious. Luckily his armour was designed so as not to compress a certain area.

He prayed he never got shot in the balls.

It was a few hours before Sandy started to wake up, during which Tevez had gathered branches for a small fire, though it wasn't lit yet. He'd save it for dark when they needed it.

Sandy's blue eyes rested on Tevez for a moment. She looked around, confused as to where they were. Then she spun around to face Tevez again. Now she was angry.

"You left him!" she said accusingly.

"I had no choice," Tevez tried to plead, but Sandy was having none of it.

"I can't believe you'd do this. I thought you were a good person!"

"I am, but there was no point both of us dying if I couldn't save-."

"You _left_ him," Sandy repeated. "You as good as killed him... murderer!" Her eyes went wide. "You murdered him!" She repeated this to herself several times. She touched her hand to her head and felt where Tevez had inexpertly patched up her wound.

"I'm sorry about that," Tevez said. "You were hysterical, and I needed to get you out of there."

"Why shouldn't I be fucking hysterical?" Sandy demanded. "You killed Vince. You killed him." Tevez sighed. "Don't sigh at me! I thought you were my friend."

"This is war, people die," Tevez snapped back. "You've lost friends before. You'll get over it." The moment he'd said it he regretted it. Sandy's eyes welled up with tears.

"Of all my friends I thought you understood me," Sandy whispered. Then she got up and ran. Tevez called after her, quickly packing up all the rations and the two guns. He dashed off into the forest after her, following the sounds of her sobs.

He'd been running for a while when he finally caught up with her. She was banging her fists against a tree. As forceful as he could managed he grabbed her arms and pulled her into a hug.

"Why are you like this?" he asked.

"Because I'm the only girl," she whispered back. "I've always taken abuse, with the wolf-whistling and men ogling me. But Vince... he looked out for me. And you looked out for me." She looked up at him. It surprised him how bright her eyes were up close. "And it was my fault. I put both of you in danger with my recklessness."

"Hey, don't worry," Tevez said. He wasn't sure what else he could say. "I'm still here. I'll look out for you."

"Promise?" Tevez stared her in the eye, and nodded. The gentle movement of his head brought his lips closer to hers, and she stood up straight to catch his lips in hers. For a long time they just stood kissing. Sandy tried to stand back for a breather but Tevez didn't want her to go. He gripped her neck tighter in one hand, sliding the other up the front of her armour.

"No, Jules-," Sandy began, but was cut off when Tevez caught her mouth again, more forcefully this time. Pinning her against the tree with his body he reached around her back and pulled her armour over her head, with her t-shirt soon following. Her bra was exposed now, and she was trying to push him back.

"No, what are you doing?" she said. But she was weak from the blow to the head earlier, and Tevez was strong. He bent slightly to undo her belt and tossed her into the leaves on the ground. She screamed and tried to kick him back but he grabbed her trousers and pulled him off.

With another scream and scuffle her bra was off, and with her pinned to the ground he caught one of her nipples in his mouth. He bit down, causing her to cry out in pain. Still she tried to resist but Tevez had her.

He managed to reach his bag with one motion and took out a length of rope. He used a knife to cut it in two. He used the first bit to tie her hands. Then he tore her panties off.

Bingo.

He took a moment to admire what he saw, before stuffing her panties in her own mouth and using the rope to secure them as a gag. She still kicked and struggled but the bulging in his trousers cried he proceed. He removed his own clothing and spread Sandy's legs wide, lining up his angle. With one more movement he buried his cock in her all the way up to her balls. She squealed in surprise, and Tevez felt something in her break. Blood flowed from where his dick was buried.

There in the dirt he humped her roughly, marvelling in how tight she was. For a while she tried to resist but soon gave into it, allowing Tevez to attain his goal and explode inside her. For a brief moment Tevez saw stars. Sandy was crying now. She muttered something through the gag.

Tevez slapped her. He spun her over so now she lay on her front with her ass in the air. It was so small, so perfect. He took a look at her asshole and positioned his cock at the entrance. Sandy caught wind of what he was about to do and tried to resist again, but Tevez soon had the better of her and conquered her other entrance.

When Tevez was done he lay there in bliss whilst Sandy remained tied up, leaking tears from her eyes and semen and blood from her pussy and ass. Tevez put his uniform back on, before untying Sandy. She said nothing, and got dressed again without a fuss. It was only when fully dressed she said something.

"I hate you," she whispered. "I thought I loved you, but I could never love a monster like you."

The words stung Tevez, but he pretended they hadn't. He took his gun and rammed it into the side of her stomach. She dropped onto both knees. He seized her chin and forced her to look at him.

"Of course you love me," he snarled. "You're my bitch. Now you do whatever I tell you. If I tell you to suck my cock, you suck it with gusto. If I tell you to fuck yourself with a lasgun, you do it. If I tell you to walk into the Tau camp and have those Kroot dogs rape you until you bleed to death out your ass YOU DO IT! Do you understand?"

Sandy nodded, but her eyes were filled with the hatred she had just confessed to.

They made their way back to the camp in silence.


	8. In A Tree

**DISCLAIMER: Warhammer 40000 belongs to Games Workshop**

_What a man cannot have he will take by force. Only if that fails will be try diplomacy._

**CHAPTER 8**

**IN A TREE**

Tevez and Sandy arrived back to the tent with the others waiting for them. Marcus didn't even ask anything. He took one look at them and stepped outside. The others still heard his roar of anguish.

Tevez spent the first while watching Sandy. He was worried she might tell the others what had happened out in the forest. After a while it became clear she wasn't going to so Tevez left to report to the Captain, who didn't take the news well.

"Thousands, you say," he paced up and down the command tent, with the lieutenants watching him. "Have they fortified their position?"

"The central area where the Tau themselves are is fortified, but the Kroot have just been left in mud huts," Tevez told him. He remembered how quickly the Kroot had mobilised, and how they'd killed Vince. Vince had screamed. They'd eaten him alive. He mentioned this to the Captain.

"Yes, it is always regrettable with a good soldier goes to his death," the Captain said with a nod. "But we must move quickly. We cannot wait for the Space Marines to arrive. A quick and decisive strike must be dealt now." Tevez knew it was not his place to question this, but he did so anyway.

"Do we have the manpower for that?" he asked. "It'll cost us thousands of men to take even the Kroot, let alone if the Tau themselves mobilise."

"They won't want to risk their lives to protect slaves," the Captain replied offhandedly.

"With all due respect, sir, these Kroot aren't ordinary slaves. They're skilled hunters and lethal fighters."

"They're a meatshield," the Captain responded. "Besides, you have no choice in the matter. Though you are in a Veteran Squad officially you are no better than a Private. A private who is now dismissed." Tevez saluted.

"As you wish, sir."

When Tevez got back to the tent everyone else was quiet. Sandy had apparently spilled the beans about Vince, but not about Tevez. Everyone was sitting about grieving in their own way. This seemed to involve a lot of pornography.

The next day everyone went about their daily business as if Vince had never existed. The others all went out for a scouting mission, but Marcus ordered that Sandy and Tevez stay behind for one day to help them recover. Sandy looked very fearful at that announcement.

She cried while Tevez forced her to suck his cock.

Tevez had noticed the dramatic change in his personality over the last few days. Perhaps he was being affected by all the betrayals and deaths he had witnessed in his time as a guardsman. But the fact that Sandy hadn't said anything about it made him feel better. He smiled and grabbed her head, shooting his load into the back of her throat, causing her to choke and splutter. In the end Tevez forced her to swallow every last drop.

She tried to kiss him but Tevez tossed her aside. She curled up and cried quietly until the others came back. When they came back they must have assumed it to be the grief over Vince, because they said nothing.

Tevez just shrugged when they looked at him.

A day later the battle order came. The squad was positioned high in the branches of the trees surrounding the enemy camp, acting as snipers to support the rest of the infantry moving it. Tevez's job was to protect Sandy acting as the sniper. She seemed calmer now, picked her shots off well and wounding many Kroot hounds. Tevez surveyed the battlefield using a pair of binoculars. The plan had been to use a swift attack and retreat, but the guardsmen had become engaged and unable to withdraw safely. And, against what the Captain had predicted, the Tau in the centre had suited up and were now lending support to the Kroot. Tevez searched their lines and nominated targets for Sandy.

"There, halfway down the third row," he said, referring to one of the Tau Fire Warriors in the more resplendent armour. Sandy took him out. Tevez climbed up onto the same branch as her, testing it to see if it could hold his weight and hers. He looked around again while Sandy picked out a few Fire Warriors.

"There, in the big suit!" Sandy moved the gun, took careful aim and fired. "You miss?" Sandy shook her head.

"His armour's too thick," she said.

"Try one more shot," Tevez urged her.

"It's hard," Sandy moaned. "He felt that shot, even if it didn't hurt him. He's half concealed behind a squad of his own men."

"Try," Tevez urged. "I know you can do it." Sandy looked down the gun, taking a lot longer with this shot than with any other. Tevez knew better than to distract her by complaining, so instead used the binoculars to follow the Tau Commander's movement in the large Battle Suit.

There was a flash and he dropped to one knee, before falling onto the ground.

Sandy cheered and momentarily forgot herself, throwing her arms around Tevez, who smiled. She drew back sharply, as if realising her mistake. Tevez's smile faded.

"Did you mean it?" Tevez asked.

"What?"

"When you said you loved me?" Sandy looked at him for a long time.

"I _thought _I loved you," she corrected, though she didn't look sure of herself. "When we're like this, fighting together I feel... good. But then you make me do things... things I don't want to do."

"So why do you do them?"

"Because you want me to."

Tevez felt a little sorry for Sandy. She didn't know why but she wanted to do everything she could to make Tevez happy, and Tevez had abused her. Part of him wanted to apologise, but another part of him, the illogical part of him, didn't want to give up the control he had over her.

"I'm sorry," Tevez said at last. "I just... couldn't control myself." It was a blatant lie. He could easily have controlled himself. He just didn't want to. Sandy forced a smile.

"We'll talk later," she said, before aiming changing the battery pack on her gun. She aimed at the opposing army again. "There'll probably be a few more commanders. Help me pick them out."

"There, just inside the Kroot base," Tevez said. He followed Sandy's aim and watched as she fired. She took another down. He glanced around at the other trees. No one could see them. He looked through the ranks of the Imperial Guard, this time looking for someone in particular.

"There, over by that green hut. The bald guy with the power fist," he whispered. "Don't kill. Just wound." Sandy aimed and fired, not questioning him.

"Take that you bastard," she muttered triumphantly. Then she turned around and kissed Tevez hard on the lips.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"He pissed me off," Sandy replied. She was smiling again. It made Tevez feel good to see her smile.


	9. The Inquisitor's Briefing

**DISCLAIMER: Warhammer 40000 belongs to Games Workshop**

_If you should find yourself staring down the wrong end of a cannon you are safe in the knowledge that your loved ones won't have the hassle of disposing of your corpse._

**CHAPTER 9**

**THE INQUISITOR'S BRIEFING**

Tevez was shocked by the wide range of emotions Sandy was going through. He thought it might have had something to do with the trauma of having lost a good friend then being raped by another in few short hours. With a fear for her mental stability he decided to be nicer to here the next few days.

Then there was the Captain, who had lay in the hospital for several days as the surgeons performed operation after operation just to keep him alive. During this time the Space Marines arrived in massive ships, setting up more permanent structures than the Imperial Guard had had previously. The reinforcements arrived clad in bright yellow armour, with an Inquisitor at their head. He was followed by two men in ceremonial armour, wielding massive swords and shields. On the first day he summoned Marcus to him. Marcus came back with news of a promotion.

"That's Lieutenant Young," Marcus told them. "Attention men! You're supposed to be my official retinue. Dan, you'll be my standard-bearer. Paint an Imperial logo on Al's underwear and tie it to the end of a stick, that ought to do it." Dan muttered something inappropriate which caused Marcus to laugh. Everybody had their own questions.

"Do we get a bigger tent?" Russ asked.

"Do we get better paid?" Greg asked.

"Can the girls get a different tent?" Sandy said with a grin.

"Can I stay in the girls' tent?" Jimmy added.

"Can I please keep my underwear?" Al pleaded.

They laughed and joked for a while, glad of this excuse to escape from the grim reality of their situation. With the Captain hanging onto life by a thread the Inquisitor had made several new promotions to fill in the gap as well as sending out a call for more Imperial Guardsmen. The Space Marines, meanwhile, were now in charge of the camp, getting all the first rations and best supplies. Plus with the Space Marine Scouts and the diminutive Ratling Snipers arriving the army no longer had a use for the Veterans as a recon unit, so now they found themselves back at the camp, running drills and, in Marcus' case, reorganising the units under his command.

Tevez would like to have said that his head was fully in the drills, but he was distracted by Sandy. She was back to her old cheery self, but Tevez didn't want to push his luck by asking about the Captain. Tevez knew why he'd done it. It was his revenge for Glacier, who the Captain had repeatedly sent into certain death. Albeit it had been Tevez who had killed him, but he eased his own conscience by blaming the Captain.

So instead he decided he would try to find a present for Sandy, just to say how sorry he was for raping her (repeatedly). He'd asked Marcus about this, but he'd just shrugged and said, "Only thing you'll get around here is stolen weapons and some narcotics off Greg, and the latter will cost you a month's worth of rations."

It was pretty lame, or so Tevez thought, but he went into the forest to pick some wild flowers. He remembered how happy his mother had gotten when his father brought her flowers. Having grown up not knowing there were other types of television shows than 24 Hour Sports News (which his father had had on constantly). In the end he settled for a bunch that smelt nice.

It was hard not to feel a bit like an idiot giving her what seemed to him to be a lump of weeds, but she'd beamed at him.

"Oh, thank you Jules. They're lovely." She rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek. Tevez watched as she arranged the flowers beside her sleeping bag and concluded that he would never fully understand girls and that probably wasn't a bad thing.

The kiss on the cheek followed him around all day, so he'd had to dig out the old dataslate with the pornography that night when everyone else in the tent had gone to sleep. When Tevez got up he noticed Al staring at him, but he quickly turned away.

Tevez was spending most of his days either running drills or just resting in the heat, which seemed to be a sign that summer was approaching. Tevez wasn't sure if this planet had seasons like his did, but he assumed it was summer. And, assuming that the summer here was a similar time to the summer back home, it would soon be his birthday. His parents would never be able to get a present out to him, but it was a nice thought that they'd be thinking of him.

Then it hit him that there was no way of contact with his homeworld no matter what happened. He could die and they might never know. He thought of the friends he'd lost on this planet. Their families probably had no idea they'd never come home.

Mothers and fathers who'd never see their sons. Little children who'd never see their brothers. Women who'd never see their boyfriends or husbands again. Then there was Sandy, the only girl in the army. Tevez wondered if she had anyone waiting back home...

She'd been crying when Tevez had first met her. Maybe for her lost love. Could it be she'd loved and lost someone in this conflict? And Tevez had abused her.

He felt horrible. But that feeling was short lived when Greg came to see him.

"We're being called in," he said. Tevez followed him into the Space Marine camp to the command centre, where they went into an unusually large room built like an amphitheatre. The seats were built on rising levels aimed towards a large computer in the centre. The Inquisitor stood beside it and waited. Tevez caught sight of Sandy and Marcus and went over to sit beside them.

Space Marines and Imperial Guardsmen continued to pile in. Tevez noticed a lot of high-ranking insignias he didn't quite recognise, and the uniforms all the guardsmen seemed to be wearing were different. Tevez and his group were in greens, but now there were blues, greys, blacks, yellows and reds as well as the yellow and red of the Space Marines.

When everyone had sat down the Inquisitor called for attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you attention please!" he called. "You know me as Inquisitor Yttrees. My orders come direct from Terra." There were a few mutterings around the room. An order from Terra was as good as an order from the Emperor himself. "They grow concerned now. The involvement of the Tau suggests that the Daemon weapon is more powerful than we could possibly imagine. We must find this weapon and destroy it." He pushed some buttons on the computer and a view of the planet came up. The Inquisitor paced around it.

"Here," he gestured to a point on the map. "Is our base. Over here, approximately ten miles from here is where the Tau set up camp. The fact that they risked a camp so close to our base means it must be nearby. Chaos movement suggests it could be less than a few miles from here. It may even be that we built this compound on top of the relic entirely by accident. The Imperial Fists," he now gestured to the Space Marine commanders in the front row. "Are, even as we speak, sweeping the area to investigate this possibility."

He looked up at the commanders.

"We _must_ find this weapon. Yesterday the Eldar arrived."

Sandy's hand found Tevez's and gripped it tightly.

"We have now increased our numbers on the planet tenfold," the Inquisitor continued. "We must take hold of this weapon and destroy it. We must secure everything within a hundred miles of this point, and we shall search the area thoroughly. If we should feel I have been authorised to bring Exterminatus down on this planet."

Sandy's nails dug into Tevez's hands. Exterminatus was the destruction of an entire world and all those in it. The Imperial Guardsmen in the room looked scared. The Space Marines watched on indifferently.


	10. Final Battle and First Love

**DISCLAIMER: Warhammer 40000 belongs to Games Workshop**

_One for all and all for the hangman._

**CHAPTER 10**

**FINAL BATTLE AND FIRST LOVE**

Things were starting to get out of control around the camp. The Imperials were fighting battles on all fronts as they tried to hold the area the Inquisitor had ordered them to. The Space Marines were, for the large part, uninvolved in the battle. Their job was the find if the relic was in Imperial held space. If not the Inquisitor was supposedly standing by to give the order to destroy the planet.

Marcus was part of the force in the north, driving back a large contingent of the Eldar. Their weapons were superior to anything Tevez had ever seen before. Marcus kept calling in to saw they needed Space Marines support or they'd be overrun. No support came.

Tevez managed to find a good spot on the hill for he and Sandy to set up as snipers. Sandy had a new sniper rifle, but she wasn't as familiar with it as her old one. And she was scared. More scared than Tevez had ever seen her. Her hands shook as she aimed at the leaders among the Eldar.

Every shot missed.

Tevez tried to reassure her. He told her she was doing a good job. Told her she'd be fine. He tried gently massaging her shoulders to ease the tension but she broke down, sobbing as she clutched at the butt of the rifle. Tevez decided to give her a break and took the rifle himself. He was nowhere near as good a shot as Sandy, but he still felled several Eldar Warriors. They continued advancing regardless. They reached the base of the hill and engaged the guardsmen there.

"Fall back!" Marcus called, his voice ringing through the hills. "Fall back and regroup!" he shouted. Tevez wondered why he corrected himself. Then he looked at Marcus, and the Commissar bearing down on him.

The Commissar shot him. Sandy screamed.

"Stand and fight!" the Commissar bellowed, even louder than Marcus. Sandy looked at the Commissar for a moment, then raised her rifle and pointed it straight at the Commissar's head.

The Commissar responded by shooting her, catching her in the side. The surprise caused her to yelp and discharge her gun, putting a hole through the Commissar's forehead. She dropped to the ground.

"No, don't die!" Tevez cried, stepping across. Her wound wasn't bad, but unless she got treatment she could still die. She sobbed as she saw the wound. Tevez quickly gathered her in his arms and ran for the camp.

"I don't want to die," she pleaded with the enemy Tevez couldn't see. "I don't want to die." She repeated it over and over again. Tevez encouraged her not to stop saying that. It meant she was still alive.

He managed to get her as far as the medical tent at base camp, but he was exhausted. He tried to find a medic to help them, but all of them were occupied with the casualties that had already arrived from the battle. Tevez pleaded with them. In the end he had no choice but to go back to the tent, and hope that Dan had left some medical supplies.

In a sense it was Sandy's lucky day. Tevez found the supplies quickly, and smeared disinfectant on the wound. Then he stitched her up, as laspistols didn't fire bullets but weak bolts of energy there was nothing to remove. She was mumbling incoherently now. Tevez hadn't wanted to inject morphine in case he gave her too much. But he had no choice now. He took out one of Greg's syringes and filled it from a bottle of morphine Dan had. He prayed that Greg didn't have some disease and Dan hadn't pissed in a bottle for a laugh.

Sandy's breathing grew steady again, but she could not sleep. She lay there with her eyes wide open staring at the ceiling of the tent. Tevez collapsed beside her. They lay there together, just enjoying the sound of each others steady breathing.

None of the other veterans returned.

"Jules?" Sandy asked when it began to get dark outside.

"Yeah?"

"Are the others coming back?" Tevez stared at the tent for a moment.

"I don't know."

"I nearly died today, didn't I?"

"Yes."

"I don't want to die. I want to stay here with you."

Tevez rolled over slightly to look at her.

"I want to stay with you too." For a while they watched each other. There was a fire in Sandy's eyes that Tevez had never seen before.

"I want you to hurt me," she whispered. Tevez was stunned.

"What?"

"I want you to do that thing... that thing you liked so much," she explained, rolling over to mirror the way he was resting. "I want you to do to me what you did in the forest. Only, maybe a little slower... and softer." She smiled. Tevez leaned in and kissed her.

And he felt every inch of her flesh, only instead of screaming as she'd done before now she gasped and groaned. He took her nipple in his mouth, and sucked on it, causing her to cry out. He worked slowly, finally positioning himself to enter her.

Tevez would never forget the first time she orgasmed. She screamed like she was being murdered but begged him not to stop. She used her own hands to frantically rub her own breasts, until she gave one last high-pitched scream. She jumped up and kissed Tevez like she'd never kissed him before, and he exploded inside her.

For a long time they just lay entangled in each other. There they slept, and their troubles went away.

"Sandy?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"When this is over, will you come back with me?"

"Of course I will."

"No, I mean, will you marry me."

"Of course I will," Sandy repeated. Tevez smiled and kissed her again. After hours he finally pulled himself from her. She whimpered.

"Don't go," she pleaded. "Stay. We'll have more fun."

They fucked like rabbits all night long.


	11. Epilogue

**DISCLAIMER: Warhammer 40000 belongs to Games Workshop**

_The last enemy that shall be conquered is death._

**EPILOGUE**

An Inquisitor sat with microphone in his hands. They hadn't been able to secure the relic. They believed that it was the Eldar who had captured it. They could not be allowed to leave the planet. He gave the command, and damned not only himself but all those stationed under him to a death they could not escape.

On the great ships in the sky the commanders almost hesitated. Inquisitors uttered this command often, but never when they themselves still resided on the planet. In doing this Inquisitor Yttrees would go down in history as the man so dedicated to his Emperor he would consign himself to oblivion.

The order was carried out. The missiles rained from the sky.

But millions of miles away two lovers had returned home. Their families greeted them, joyous at their return. Many other families watched and wished that their loves ones would return soon. But they never would.

The lovers had snuck home aboard a ship with the most seriously wounded, who had left the planet mere hours before Exterminatus had been brought down on it. Home on Kronus to lead the rest of their lives together. They were married, naturally, opened a law firm and had three young children.

The first one joined the army, despite his parents' pleas not to. He never came back. The second became a lawyer, a highly respectable position. But the last of them was the greatest of all. He joined the army as well but, unlike the first, he came back, just briefly, to show his mother the medal he had won. He soon left and this time he never came back. But, many years later, a Space Marine commander passing through the area stopped to see the two lovers in their twilight years. He had a package from their long lost son.

A picture of him, his wife and their son. He had his grandfather's eyes.

Soon after the lovers passed from this life. The doctors believed they died around the same time, the reason the same in both cases...

Sexual exhaustion.

"Is there any better way to go?" the second child asked philosophically.

**THE END**


End file.
